Slowly working on getting things done

So, the last time I was here I was talking about dying yarn. I thought I'd give you a quick update of what it is I did with that yarn!


I made soakers. DaisyHead Bloomers to be exact. Such a fun pattern. I think I may make it again if any of my friends or family turn out to be expecting baby girls! The pattern (although meant to go over cloth diapers) gives instructions on where to stop with the shaping should they be worn over disposables, so I figure no need to stick to making them just for the cloth diapering mommas!

This is a great pattern with really detailed instructions - which is what I felt I needed going into it given it was my first pair of soakers I've ever made and I had to do short row shaping (yikes - I've always been kind of afraid of short row shaping... not any more!). The size range is great too - from teeny weeny to toddler! Well worth the money spent on the pattern I'd say! And there is just something too cute about little girls in dresses and bloomers!


I've been wanting to get a lot of sewing done too lately, but alas, time seems, as always, to be in short supply and high demand. I did manage to make a fitted sheet for the playpen - something I'd been wanting to accomplish since I got the playpen when little toddler man was about two weeks old... Better late than never I figure and baby to be will definitely get use out of it. Toddler man consented to play in the play pen for a record five minutes the other day - funny how he used to LOVE being in there and now views it as a veritable prison - anyways - he was quite taken with the fabric and kept saying, "Oooooooooh" and pointing to all the different things in the print. Made me happy to see his reaction! It's the little things in life, you know?

I used a great tutorial I found online for the sheet - being math impaired such as I am, I didn't even want to attempt to figure out the measurements myself - I tried that last year with a sheet for the cradle mattress after having such success (using a tutorial) for the crib sheets and messed it up woefully. The cradle mattress all but folded itself end to end when I put the sheet on it. Maybe I'll revisit that idea again too - who knows. Maybe the gods of mathematics will smile favourably on me this time 'round!

That's been about it for finished crafty items for me - I'm working on a few things right now -- a little ruched cardi (for another friend expecting a baby girl) and of course my usual WIPs that have been hanging around forever. I'm collecting charm squares like a fiend - my mommies group is working on Charm Square Swap #3 now and I'm in hook, line and sinker. I plan to make on huge quilt eventually some day with all the squares I've amassed, but for now am satisfied to just go sort them, look at them and adore them.

Some day... seems to be a my life's motto these days...

In which I learn to properly dye yarn

Why do pictures never show the colour just right? The yarn is actually most like the skein picture!

I've been on the hunt. I sewed a little dress for a friend's baby and I desperately want to knit some little bloomers to go with it. I want pink bloomers to match. Problem was despite my hunt I could not find the right shade of pink yarn for love or money. Then a friend suggested that I dye my own yarn. I thought about it for a bit. I've done some before - but never been exactly thrilled with the result. I've always used the microwave/kool aid method. How would I mix kool aid flavours to get the right shade of pink. Then my friend had another suggestion. Wilton dyes. You know - the ones that come in little tubs in about a million different colours? I wasn't sure how to go about using Wilton dyes or how they differed from using kool aid and couldn't get back to my friend. In all fairness, I guess she has other things to do in life besides sit idly by her computer waiting to hold my hand through the whole process.


I started to search online figuring someone must have a tutorial somewhere and that's when I stumbled upon a Knitty article on dying your own yarn. I printed it off, stopped in a Michaels for a tub of colour, headed home and grabbed one of my dozens of balls of Patons Classic in Winter White that I have in my stash (thank you Kristy for your mom's yarn - it's come in handy again already!!!) wound it into a skein and set it to soak in water and vinegar. Yes folks! I do think that is a fun way to spend a Friday evening! Who wouldn't?!?!

Saturday morning was an early one. I can't remember why. Normally (BF)G gets up with little toddler man when he wakes up at the crack of dawn on a Saturday, but for some reason I had to get up too - and little toddler man was up at 4:45am! By 8:00am my lovely pink yarn was cooling in the crockpot waiting for it's bath! I did end up dying it a bit more in the afternoon though as I wasn't sure it was just right. There were a few spots that seemed to be naked of colour altogether and that just wasn't going to do! After it's second time in the dye bath, it seemed MUCH better!


I hung it initially on the shower head to dry, but the house is so hot and humid right now it wasn't really drying quickly enough for my liking, so yesterday morning I took it outside while the sun was out and there was a lovely breeze blowing. By mid-morning I was casting on the bloomers happy as a clam about my yarn. There are still a few spots in it that didn't get as much dye as the rest and I was a bit concerned about it at first, but it seems to be knitting up with just a slight, subtle varigated look to it. I keep hoping I don't come across a really pale spot - but so far almost 2" in to the knitting and nothing hideous yet!


Now I am afraid that I may have created a bit of a problem for myself. It would seem that I can't stop thinking about the possibilities of dying yarn... I do have, afterall, several balls of Winter White Patons Classic just sitting there begging to become something different!


Oh - and the dress? It's a from a Simplicity pattern and I couldn't be happier with how it turned out! Picture quality may be sadly lacking here... I took the picture in my slightly dark living room late last night!

A couple of tiny hats!

Baby hats are awesome! They take next to no time at all, use very little yarn and are super cute and fun to make.

Which would be the reason I signed up for a secret hat swap on my expectant momma's group on Ravelry. We are supposed to send our partner one baby hat, but in a moment of madness I made two and love them both so much that I'm sending both.

I fell in love with the Susan B. Anderson's Upside Down Daisy hat some time ago when I stumbled across the pattern on Ravelry. Little did I realize I'd had the Knit Simple magazine all along in my collection with just that pattern in it! Silly me. Since I only have one little girl, who's not so little anymore at 17 1/2 years old, I didn't think she'd appreciate a upside down daisy on her head - and since my wee man is, well, a wee man, I didn't think a daisy would be great for him either. Baby to be is a boy as well, so who could I knit this for? Then I got my swap partner and she's expecting a girl! Wheeee! Girly knitting. Finally!

So I made the little hat and love it!


But then I realized that I was supposed to be making a winter hat and since I made Upside Down Daisy out of cotton I thought maybe, although cute, it just wouldn't be warm enough to be called a winter hat. So I set to work making another hat. This time I did a simple little cap with an eyelet band. I used Debbie Bliss Alpaca Silk for the yarn and it's so soft and snuggly. Hopefully it'll keep a wee girl warm in winter. I did a bit of a mistake in knitting the second hat. Hating seaming with a passion, I figured problem solved, I'd knit it in the round. How hard could that be? Not hard at all - unless you forget the fact that you should actually pay attention that you need to knit the purl rows instead of purling along them if they're meant to be the wrong side UNLESS you should be purling that row because in the pattern it tells you to knit on the wrong side. Ah well. I had good intentions and although it doesn't look as cute as the pattern, I'm still pretty happy with it. So I will send it as well!



I really hope my partner likes her new baby hats!

The Quilt!

I'm done baby's quilt! I'm really quite pleased with it even though there are a few wonky bits here and there. I've decided that I'm new enough to quilting that I don't need to get all crazy perfectionist about things. Once the quilt has been spit up on, chewed on by the dog (yes - that happened to the Bean's quilt - nothing a wee bit of tears, and then several months of hiding in a closet (the quilt - not me), and some patching couldn't fix), and washed a million times I figure no one will notice the bits that aren't exactly the way they should be.

So here in all it's glory, fresh from the drier is my version of the Charm Squares Baby Quilt. I used a charm pack of Moda's Animal Alphabet for the blocks, some generic lime green cotton from my local fabric store for the sashing and backing and some red alphabet print (again from the Animal Alphabet collection) for the binding. It's a bit smaller than I pictured - why I don't check these kinds of things out ahead of time is beyond me, but I figure that just leaves the door wide open. Sort of like a movie with a loose ending that you just know means a sequel to come, this is a good reason to make a sequel quilt for when baby is a toddler. I like nothing more than an excuse to ponder more patterns and buy more fabric! ;)

Whee!!!

Mondays are always kind of ho hum at the office. Ok I’ll admit it. Pretty much every day feels ho hum when I’m at work these days. Only because I’d much rather be home with my little toddler man. Plus add to that the fact that I sit day dreaming most of my day away lately. (Can we blame pregnancy hormones for that???). So many other things to think about besides work.

Anyways… in an effort of diversion from the ho hum I was busily checking my email a while ago scanning through the junk emails about to delete them all, when one caught my eye again. The subject line was something like, “You’ve Won our Monthly Draw” and I was about to check it for delete when something stopped me. I figured it would turn out to be just like the emails telling me about once a month that I’ve won some fabulous lottery prize if I’ll just send my credit card info for verification… You know the kind I mean… but what the heck. I was looking for a diversion, so hoping I wasn’t going to open something that would then crash my system with some plague of a virus I clicked on the email.

I WON!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

A while back my attention was drawn to Green Fairy Quilts and I signed up for their newsletter/notification. I also entered my name in their monthly drawings and did I mention yet?

I WON!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I, who never ever win anything, have won the June monthly drawing! They’re going to send me the Garden Party Quilt Pattern, which is designed by the shop owner herself. It’s a really cute pattern and I’m super duper excited about it!!! I’m SILLY EXCITED about it actually!!!!!

In other crafty news, I have finished the quilting portion of the baby’s quilt. There are a few wonky spots in it, but I’m trying not to let that drive me crazy! I’ve learned a few things along the way I think and that’s what counts. Right? I hope to get the binding at least started tonight if not finished. We’ll see how tired I am come evening. My little man was up at 4:30am this morning and unfortunately I’d stayed up late last night – quilting the quilt thank you very much. I wasn’t banking on getting up so early when I through caution to the wind and stayed up till almost 11:00pm. Yawn! Hopefully in the next few days I can show you the finished quilt!

I also finished the baby socks I’ve been working on. I decided to use up some yarn for them and chose my Jawoll Jacquard from the first pair of socks I ever knit myself. Seemed like the perfect use for the tiny bit I had left over. I was ever so careful to match starting points in the self-patterning because I was determined to have an identical match. All was working according to plan until I ran into a join in the yarn about ½” from the finish line. No problem I figured. It looked like they had joined to keep the continuity of the pattern, so I figured I might be a touch off of a perfect match, but well within the limits I could live with, that is until I started knitting a dark blue stripe where a light blue stripe should have been. I hummed and hawed and finally decided after trying so hard to make it work out, and the fact I REALLY, REALLY wanted identical not fraternal twin socks, I frogged back and joined the yarn up where it should have been in the first place and continued happily on my way.

May I present to you my matching baby socks?!?

Also, I just have to send a big thank you out to my friend Andrea from my work knitting group who makes the nicest baby wash cloths ever to be had! Last year she gave me one for Douglas and I love it! That thing is the best for the bath cloth EVER!!! And despite it being washed over and over it’s never lost its softness which is awesome in my books! Well, at knitting on Wednesday she presented me with one for the new baby! I love the way she wraps it up on itself so it looks like a little flower. (Now – to save this for baby. Little toddler man cannot have it for his bath!)

Preparing for a Party!!

Baby Bean will be one on Monday - I think this means he's no longer a "baby" but Toddler Bean just doesn't have quite the same ring to it does it?

Yesterday being Canada Day, and therefore a "no work for me" day, made for a great day to start getting prepared for his birthday party on Sunday afternoon. I decided that since there will be a total of seven little ones coming to help celebrate I would make some little kid friendly type goodie bags for them to take home with them. Trying to steer clear of sweets - because I'm kind of a stickler that way - I decided to make crayon rolls, and play dough and then I'll also include a cookie cutter for using with the play dough, a pad of paper to go along with the crayons and some bubble solution.

The crayon rolls are done! I'm so pleased with how they've turned out! I used a tutorial from V and Co.'s blog and they were pretty quick and easy to do!

I also got a couple batches of play dough made. Took me a bit to remember the recipe from way back when I used to make it all the time for G, N and J, but it did come back and I am now excited to think that Bean is going to be old enough for play dough fun soon - maybe not just yet thought... he's still in the "let's try to eat everything in sight" phase (with one exception - the kid who will happily try to chow down on a fluff ball of dust and fur will NOT eat a hamburger for love or money. He apparently thinks they are not in the worthy of being eaten category.)

Here's my tried and true recipe for play dough:

1 cup white flour

1/4 cup salt

2 TBSP Cream of tartar

1 cup water

1 TBSP oil

Mix the flour, salt and cream of tartar in a medium sized saucepan. Combine water and oil in a measuring cup and pour into the saucepan - stir until smooth. Cook on medium heat stirring the whole time until you begin to get a globby looking mess in your pot. Keep stirring, but keep a close watch on your globby mess, because right away it's going to miraculously go from being a glob of goo to play dough! As soon as it forms a nice play doughy ball in the middle of your pot turn off the heat and turn ball of dough onto lightly floured board. Knead for a few minutes and then cool. Store in a tightly sealed container in the fridge when not being played with. There are a few options for making it fancy!

To colour it you can use a package of unsweetened kool aid mix (I used Cherry for the red!) and mix it in with the dry ingredients, or you can use regular food colouring (like I did for the yellow) - as many drops as you feel makes the colour the one you want - I am messy, so I tend to put the food colouring in my measuring cup along with the water and oil or I seem to have a talent for getting it on the countertop, myself and anything in between! For the red one I also added a bit of glitter in the mix just to make things sparkly!

Play dough was a absolute staple in my house when the kids were little. I've never been a fan of store bought play dough - the smell of it alone used to make me feel a wee bit nauseaus. And why go to the store when you can make your own great big ball of it in no time for next to no money!?!

Continuing on with my birthday party celebrations I decided to make Bean a crown to wear on his special day. He seemed pretty pleased with it when I tried it on him this morning when he woke up!

One chapter ends and another begins!

For my girl that is! She's come to the end of high school! I can't believe it in some ways - seems like just yesterday she was off to kindergarten! Next up after the summer will be university! Time flies!

Receiving her Grade 12 diploma!

All grown up and ready to celebrate!

Getting things done!

How has so much time passed since my last posting? I honestly have no idea where the days go right now!!!I’ve got some knitting FO’s to show and am kind of excited because it’s been a long while since I’ve had much knitting mojo going on!

First up is my Plath Cardigan. I originally started it back in May ’09 as a maternity cardi when I was still pregnant with Baby Bean. How I ever thought, knowing me and my procrastination, that I would finish a cardigan and have any chance of wearing it, when starting it in May and being due in July is beyond me! Of course it didn’t get finished!

I hauled it back out of hiding a few months ago (and literally it was hiding – couldn’t find it for the life of me for a bit – turned out it was in with my knitting stash of all places. Imagine that! Knitting hiding in with the knitting supplies… Go figure!) Anyways, it was looking dicey for finishing it in time for this pregnancy too with my lack of motivation to knit anything, but I persevered a bit at a time and lo and behold, finally finished it last week! The sizing isn’t great for me; it’s a touch big under the arms, but all things considered not too bad. I’m feeling a bit “meh” about it, not sure I really like it, heck I’m not sure I like it at all, but it’s done and maybe it’ll grow on me (or I'll grow into it) over the next couple months!

And seeing as how I’m now starting into my sixth month along in this pregnancy and had not yet knit a single stitch for this wee baby, I felt I really should do something! I’m going to make a Baby Shell (great little pattern from a mom I know in my mommies group on Rav), but can’t find my circ that I need and so far have been too busy to go actually buy a new one. So on Saturday I came to the conclusion that I needed something to start. Anything as a matter of fact!! So I grabbed a pattern, some needles and a ball of yarn as I headed out to the truck to go to the Manitoba Highland Gathering for G’s competition. In the time it took us to drive there and half way home I finished a sock! I don’t think I was ever at risk of succumbing to 2nd Sock Syndrome with this pair! They were just that quick and easy! Love a pattern like that! (by the way - the socks are actually a lovely pale blue - not gray... guess that's what happens when you take a picture when it's pouring down rain in the evening even using a flash didn't help.)

I also made a new skirt last week! Yes, I do realize I’m sort of addicted to the Florinda pattern, but it is a seriously easy and comfy skirt to make! I didn’t bother lining this one, so I think it took me less than an hour to make. This is from the $5.00/metre fabric I mentioned last time, so for maybe $10.00 (including fabric, the jersey knit for the panel and elastic), I have a new skirt. I think I’ll wear it to G’s high school graduation on Friday evening!

Speaking of G’s graduation – how on earth did she ever get old enough to graduate from high school??? – I need to make her clutch. I’m using this tutorial from U handbag.

Next up is focusing on making the crayon rolls for Baby Bean’s first birthday party. I really want to do some “loot bags” for the little ones and I’m figuring crayon rolls, pad of paper, bubble solution and maybe if I’m organized enough some homemade play dough and a cookie cutter. If I just get the crayon rolls done I’ll be thrilled! (I’ve 8 to make, so I really need to get cracking on it!) I’ll let you know how it goes!

I'm in. Hook. Line. Sinker.

Or maybe I should say, "Needle, Thread, Fabric"

I know I've been extolling the virtues of Moda pre-cut fabrics lately, really I'm starting to feel like a bit of a walking advertisement for them, but I just can't seem to help myself.

Being new and therefore incredibly inexperienced in the world of quilting I like the thought of anything that makes it a bit easier for me to progress in my quilting abilities and these pre-cut goodies seem to be just the thing to help me along. I can't (or won't because it's a bit embarassing) tell you how much time I spend online these days oogling fabric and patterns. Plotting and planning projects. Too bad I don't get near as much time to actually sit down and sew! All in time though... all in time.

As you might notice I've added a few new things to my list of, well, "favourite things" and now because of one of those, I now have to go add another to my list. V and Co. has a giveaway on her blog right now sponsored by Green Fairy Quilts. Because that's all I need in my life... yet another website to go to for hours on end! ha ha! But I think I'm actually in love. I really like how their site is laid out - and the prices look great! I forsee some shopping in my very near future! Eeek! (I believe my credit card is now trembling away in fear...).

I am taking part right now in a charm square swap with my Mommies group over on Ravelry and because we've all been talking quilting and charm squares lately, we've lured a few more previously non-sewing mommies into the fold. We're going to have a second charm square swap coming up soon so they can partake as well and so I am going to completely justify any purchases in the near future as necessary for my swap participation. How's that sound?

On the sewing front at home, I ditched the cat pee batting - (BF)G raised a very good point when he said, "What if you can't smell the pee anymore after it's washed, but the cats can and keep peeing on it?" I near well died at the thought of that, so out it went. Good thing I got such a good deal on it or my thrifty (ok, cheap) side would have had a bit of coronary over tossing it out! I grabbed the spare batting out of the closet and set to work on making my Charm Squares Baby Quilt sandwich, pinned it all to death and have started machine quilting it. I am pretty happy so far with my efforts and hope to have a chance to do a bit more soon. I also finished sewing all my blocks together for the Oh Cherry Oh baby blanket. Only now I really, really like it and am contemplating getting another honey bun and making the whole thing bigger. To heck with baby blankets... I'm thinking picnics in the park type blankets instead. We'll see!

Oh and I fell victim to the siren call of some pretty black and white cotton the other day at the fabric store. It was $5.00/metre. I figured I couldn't go wrong. I think this momma's going to get yet another skirt!

On the knitting front - Plath is coming along. Slowly but surely. I'm working on the ribbing of the placket and bottom right now. It's taking forever. I may have had this little baby before I ever get it finished at this rate...

Now, off to go ponder what fabrics I really must have! :)

Anyone want a cat? How about three?

I'm feeling a wee bit more than a little defeated in my quilt making efforts. Not because of the fabric. Not because of the quilting. No indeed. I've been beaten. By my cats.

I lovingly draped the quilt tops in progress, along with the batting and backing for one over top the jolly jumper that currently resides in my sewing corner of the basement. I figured it was a good way to keep them nice and pretty and out of the reach of drooly dogs and shedding cats. It was working like a charm. Until yesterday that is.

I came home after a lovely afternoon and evening to find, much to my horror, that my whole neatly draped pile of fabric was in a heap on the floor underneath the jolly jumper. I was annoyed that it was heaped up like that, but figured all that would be needed would be a quick pressing of the tops and the backing and I'd be right back on track. Being late, I decided it would be prudent to just hang them back up and deal with them today instead.

As I picked them up it hit me. Like a tonne of bricks. That unmistakable odour of cat pee. I am out for kitty blood at the moment. (and a way to wash my batting prior to using). GRRRRRRRR.

In happier and more exciting news, I have baby to be's first photos in my possesion. I love this one in particular where baby is looking all snug as a bug in a rug!

Momma needed a new frock!

Well, actually a skirt to be precise. I made my first Florinda skirt a while back, but hadn't had a chance to wear it, or even seem to get a picture of it, but yesterday the sun was shining and it seemed warm enough to wear a skirt to work. Too bad I didn't realize we were under a "wind warning" and the winds were gusting at about 90kms/hour yesterday. Go figure. The one day I wear a skirt in almost a year. It was ok though - a little dicey walking from the far end of the parking lot to the office, but I managed to keep the skirt in the realm of decency and all was well.

Here's me in the first skirt I made - this one had a full maternity panel, which I will definately appreciate as the months go along and I get bigger.

Being as pleased as I was with the first attempt, I decided to throw caution to the wind and make a second skirt. This time doing a different waist. I love this skirt too! And seriously, I cannot say enough good things about this pattern. It's a great fit, the instructions are well laid out and easy to understand. Even if I'd barely sewn a stitch in my life, I think I could have made this pattern successfully!

Since I am becoming like a teenager who refuses to go to bed at night despite knowing I have to get up in the morning (ok - well, I'm in bed by 10:30 at the latest unlike a teen who would willy nilly stay up until the wee hours of the morning) I've also been able to get some work done on the second baby quilt I'm making. This is the "girl" quilt. I'm using Moda's Oh Cherry Oh honey bun to do the strips. I wanted something a little more fun and funky than classic for the quilt. I am considering doing a sort of aqua blue sashing fabric just to add to the fun. Not sure yet though - we'll see once my blocks are done.

Now, I have to say that a honey bun is fantastic. I can not even begin to imagine cutting out all those strips of fabric I would have needed. I'd still be cutting by the time baby to be was a parent to be at the rate I cut things (and at the rate of disasterous results with my cutting - I seem to have trouble with the straight lines!) I've got two 8 strip panels sewn so far - I think that will make 10 blocks. I've three more panels to go. They do take some time, but I'm learning to streamline the process as I go. Instead of sew, iron, sew, iron etc. I do sew, sew, iron, sew, sew, iron. It doesn't seem like it would make much difference, but it has! So here's my in progress shot.

A good use for the time being unused jolly jumper too don't you think? ;)

In knitting news - yes! There is knitting news these days! I've managed to finish one of the sleeves on the Plath Cardi and am underway on the second sleeve. They're 3/4 length. It shouldn't take me long. I hope. Although the last sleeve took me probably a month or more. But I'm motivated now. I really am.

Why the sudden motivation you ask? Simple. I'm dying to cast on for another project, and I won't allow myself the luxury until Plath is done. My good friend, K, messaged me the other day asking if I'd like some of her mom's yarn stash. Her mom, had sadly passed away suddenly recently and K and her brothers were trying to sort through things. I went on Saturday and let me say, K's mom's stash put my stash to shame. She had the most incredible yarns in that stash of hers - and what a knitter she was!! I have a Lopi sweater that I've always wanted to make since I got the pattern about 13 years ago, and thanks to K and her brothers, I have exactly the Lopi yarn for it. I also have accquired some Euroflax Linen, some Arucania Nature Wool, some Patons Classic, quite a bit of White Buffalo 6 ply, much more Lopi and some other lovely treats as well. (and to let you know the scope of the stash in question? I did not even make a dent. Not a dent!!)

So thank you to K and her brothers. Your generosity is greatly appreciated! I am honoured to have this legacy from such a incredible craftswoman as your mother was.

A little progress...

So not much has been done in the way of crafty persuits in my household over the last week. I had such high hopes, but they were kind of dashed when we got our two weeks worth of homework for Bella's puppy school.

It's a doozy of an assignment! We have to have her tethered to us at all times that we are awake and home. (I'm currently thinking of how practical it would be to leave home for the remainder of the assignment!). Needless to say, having a 60lb four legged furry barnacle attached to me at the hip has greatly decreased my time (not to mention energy) for much of anything.

However, I did get some sewing time in this week after everyone else had gone to bed. I paid the price for staying up late, but got at least a wee sense of satisfaction in accomplishment. I finished the "surprise" quilt top that I mentioned before. Now to back, quilt and bind the sucker. That'll be a whole other journey in madness I'm sure! I also got the top done for the first of the two baby quilts I'm planning on making.

Now just to choose fabric for the backing and binding on this one too! I've got some thoughts rattling around in my head, but haven't quite decided what route to take with it just yet.

I have high hopes (once again) that this weekend, being the long weekend, will bring me lots of time for enjoying my sewing and maybe some knitting as well! I think I've managed a total of four or five rows on my plath cardi, which, would actually be perfect for wearing right now. Must get some time to finish it!!!

So keep your fingers crossed for me please!

Need a Few More Hours Please

And to stop needing to go to bed by 8:00pm. This early to bed nonsense is really cutting into my crafty time these days. Baby Bean goes to bed between 7:00 and 8:00 and unfortunately, I'm fast on his heels to bed myself. I need to either quit my job and become a lady of leisure or find a few extra "awake" hours in the day.

I had really hoped to get in loads of sewing time and maybe some knitting too this weekend. It didn't happen. Now it's Monday, back to the weekday grind which means I'll have to wait until next weekend to hopefully get to any crafty type stuff.

I did take a few minutes while the baby napped yesterday to cut out my squares and decide on a layout for baby quilt #1, which in my head I'm thinking of as the "boy quilt" - although (BF)G tells me he thinks it would be great for boy or girl. He just groaned and shook his head when I told him, "But honey! I've got more fabric and a different pattern coming for a "girl quilt!" I believe he's quickly realizing that he's fighting a losing battle here.

As I was saying, I laid out my squares and rectangles for the Charm Squares Baby Quilt. I'm quite tickled with the fabric I chose for it! It's busy, bright and cheery.

After doing my layout, I got N to come over to the table and take a look at it. I told him to see if there was any of the squares he felt should be switched around, and asked what colour I should get for the sashing. He was quick to take interest and told me he thought a light green like the background colour of one of the squares would be great for the sashing. I'm going to follow his advice (green is exactly what I was thinking too actually) and go on the hunt for the perfect fabric. I forgot to ask him what colour I should do the binding and backing in. Maybe I'll ask him tonight. For a 15 1/2 year old boy he's pretty good with this whole quilt planning business!

Quilt layout - minus the sashing in between of course

I seem to have a new obsession...

I have a new obsession. I sensed it could become a problem last year, but then it sort of settled down to a mere interest until just recently when it grew back up into a full fledged obsession. Perhaps addiction – I’m not sure which term would be more appropriate.

Let’s just say I’ve always had a bit of a thing for textiles. I grew up in a home where sewn and hand knit items were not just common place but kind of a way of life. In high school I took three years of Fashion Design Technology. I sewed like a fiend for the kids when they were little, worked in a fabric shop in the late 90’s (didn’t make much money at it, but worked there none the less and had a great stash to show for those long hours on my feet), and have done more than my fair share of dance costumes and odd “freelance” type jobs. A great fabric calls to me in the same manner that a great yarn calls to me. I’m weak in the presence of it.

I’ve collected quilting magazines and books over the years - what did I do with those books anyways? I had a great stash of them too, now I’ve no idea where they’ve gone. Did I get rid of them at some point? Seems unlikely but one never knows over the course of time. Despite collecting patterns and books though I’d never been quite brave enough to try it until last spring, that is, when I was expecting Baby Bean and I decided it was high time I should try making a quilt.

Well, the quilt turned out lovely and I was hooked. I’ve got a second quilt in the works, but Baby Bean is not one to let mama sit and sew for very long so it sits in one of the bins waiting for a good time to work on it. It’s also a bit of surprise for one of my teens, (won’t say which one just on the off chance they someday stumble upon these musings before the quilt is finished and presented) so it’s also got to be worked on only when the kid in question is not home.

In the meantime I have discovered something wonderful. Pre-cut quilt fabric bundles. Layer Cakes, Jelly Rolls, Honey Buns and Turnovers, OH MY!!!!!!!!!! In the last week alone I’ve succumbed to two different charm packs, a honey bun and a turnover. At this rate I sense I may have a bit of a problem. But they really couldn’t make quilting any easier could they?

Then I discovered my next problem the Moda Bakeshop. Well, now if the people over at the Moda fabric company aren’t just the smartest marketing strategists around I’m not sure who is. I went to the bakeshop for ideas of what to do with my newly acquired stash and what happens? Not only do I come up with a myriad of ideas for my stash, I come up with a myriad of ideas which now require stash.

Anyone know of a program I could get into? I think I need some professional help!

PS: New knitting to show as well! Here’s a picture of G’s “Championship Piggie”. The pig seems to somehow oddly be the championship mascot for her dance school, even their school tank tops and shorts has a little pig on them, so, and this year I thought I’d make her one to take with her for good luck. Piggie even has some "motivational" type charms strapped around his neck. I told her yesterday - "You have the Piggie - you have the power" and it seemed to keep her spirits up and motivate her into a 3rd runner up spot! Not too shabby considering lessons and practicing have greatly fallen by the wayside this year between illnesses, injuries, grade 12, and working. Way to go G!!

Focus, Strength, Discipline

Some Amendments and a Confession

We'll start with the ammendment part of the post!

So as it would turn out, I forgot about a few WIP that I have had languishing on the needles...

I forgot to mention two projects - really I hope there's only two more, because otherwise I've gone from the realm of the kind of having a problem to the realm of good grief I really should get help for this kind of madness!

I told you I succumb easily to the siren song of a new project - I was going to say cast on, but apparently I'm not just limited to knitting in this insanity. I just can't help myself (you'll see proof of this in a moment actually!)

Without further ado I present the forgotten two WIP:

Bristow - I was doing great on this one in the winter - didn't really like the colour, but thought it would grow on me. Have the back and half the right front done. The colour has not grown on me, but how do you completely abandon a project, even if you really don't like it, when so much time has gone into it? HOW?!?!

Pembroke Vest - What should have been a quick to finish knit sat lost and lonely wanting only a neckline and armholes done. I even bought the needles about a month ago that I would need to finish it because I was too lazy (ok this is kind of embarassing) to go down and search through my mess to find the needles that I'm almost positive I probably already had a set of.

So there you have it... another couple to add to the list.

And now the confession. Not two days after posting that I was going to finish up some WIP before starting something new I fell prey to Cafe au Lait mitts. Actually I fell prey to them several weeks ago, but didn't like the yarn I was using so after all but finishing one I gave up on them. But couldn't forget them. The pattern called to me (repeatedly - it was pretty pushy that way and refused to be ignored). So the other day I cast on... they took two days to knit and I love them. Of course the weather is now freakishly warm so instead of wearing them this spring (who needs mitts of any sort fingerless or not when it's +20C outside?) I'll save them lovingly for the fall.

Suffering from the guilt of my failed mission to finish the WIP first, I felt I should actually really do some honest to goodness work on one of them. Seeing as how Pembroke seemed to be the most likely to give me a sense of accomplishment I set to work yesterday. Took no time at all and it was done - seems kind of silly now that I didn't finish it ages ago.

Not sure how much I like my yarn choice. It's a nice enough colour, but perhaps Peace Fleece was a bit of an odd choice for a baby's vest. He's not likely to get much wear out of it regardless of washability (and the scratchy factor) though anyways given I procrastinated so long on it that it barely fits him now. Whatever the case may be - chalk one up for success in my dimishing the WIP list! That in itself is worth something.

I also made a skirt for myself yesterday - the Florinda skirt from Farmingwife on Etsy. Yes - I am expecting again (due in the fall) and figure sooner or later will have an actual need for something nice but comfortable to wear - I love the pattern! I've already got plans for a second one in different fabric with a slightly different waist band. Sorry no pictures yet of this project - I'll have to get that done one of these days!

So, no more promises on working on WIPs only. Turns out I need to know my limits and embrace them. I am just not a one (or six) project kind of gal. What can I say?

Where does the time go?

All smiles
Originally uploaded by Highlanddancemom

One minute I was pregnant, then it seems within the blink of an eye life has become about chasing a very active nine month old around. Baby Bean is not much of a baby anymore it would seem. He can crawl with a staggering speed, walk around the furniture and climbs like a monkey.

I feel very remiss in the fact that I last posted that my wee man was five months old and prior to that I think he was only a few months old. So much for my regular blogging. I am hoping that my return to work (and therefore return to regularly scheduled coffee and lunch breaks) will allow a bit more time in the day for jotting down a few thoughts once in a while.

I'd love to say I had oodles of projects to show you from my time away from the blog, but the sad truth is after a mad knitting run just before Christmas - four sock monkies, a couple of hats and five bunnies - I have not finished a blessed thing. No sewing been happening either unfortunately. I have plans though... Oh yes and good intentions to boot.

I have decided I should finish my current WIP that have been languishing in the deepest darkest reaches of my house. In fact three of them I'd actually managed to lose for a bit. Not sure what that says about my skills as a housekeeper, but none the less. They were lost. Nothing makes me want to knit something more than when I can't find it. Unfortunately once found, I knit for a bit, then my eye starts to wander to something else. It's a bit of a curse, really.

So without further ado, here is the list of projects I plan on working on over the next little while (and maybe if I'm lucky I'll actually finish a few of them too!) :

Plath Cardi - so close to being able to finish this one! Just need to do the sleeves and the trim then I could maybe actually get some wear out of it for the spring!

Clapotis - started this one as a KAL with my Ravelry Mommies group. Stalled out when I foolishly managed to grab the needle and pull it straight out of all the stitches. Really should get back at it - the KAL finished January 15th. I'm no where near done.

Clementine Shawlette - Really, if I could find some focus, then maybe, just maybe this old, old, old WIP could become and FO. I started it in 2007 on the trip to Peru, frogged it sometime later that year and restarted it. Got more than 3/4 of the way done and got bored. I have a mere 10 inches left to go - but it's the boring part - same four rows of pattern over and over and over.

Chevron Scarf - No where near done this one. About 5 or 6 inches into a very long scarf that I started last spring. You know the kind of project. You see a picture of it and you just have to have it? Life cannot continue until you knit it? Well - same sort of thing goes for this as for my darling Clementine. I got bored. And fast. But the yarn is really pretty (Knit Picks Imagination), so you never know. I may show it some love again some day.

Froot Loops Socks - halfway done sock number 1. It's a sad and sorry situation when you suffer from 1st sock syndrome, let alone 2nd sock syndrome. I think I may just frog these. The yarn (Panda Cotton) does not play well with me. It splits, it snags, it causes no end of grief.

So there you have it! We'll see how far I get on my mission to finish things up before I fall prey to my wandering eye and the lust for a new project. The siren call of the cast on is never far off you know.

Baby Bean is Five Months Old!!!

Douglas 5 months
Originally uploaded by Highlanddancemom

The last five months of my life have flown by so quickly. In what feels like the blink of an eye, my little baby is not so little anymore. It's so hard to believe he's already five months old.

I get so busy that I didn't even realize it was October the last time I posted an entry! I've been doing all sorts of knitting these days, but most of it I can't talk about right now. It's of the super secret holiday kind, and I just don't want to take any chances of surprises being spoiled.

I'm lucky to have such a content little man. He likes to play while I get to knit. I've developed a system of 1 1/2 eyes on baby and 1/2 an eye on my knitting. Needless to say there's no intricate lace knitting going on in my house these days! Well, not that there really ever was really. Some day I'd love to start, but I know my limitations and dropping what ever I'm doing in a heart beat to rescue the baby from under the kitchen table, or the dog's ear from baby's teeth or what have you and then picking up and continuing fall way over my limitations. For now it's plain, easy to follow instructions or mindless knitting for me. I don't mind though. Knitting is knitting!

Baby Bean as Auntie Geri loves to still call him loves to be on the move. These days if I put him on the floor on a blanket he stays on it for all of three seconds (tops) and then is off. Today he made his way around the entire living room using his combination scoot and roll method. Later on in the day he did the same in the dining room, well that is until he managed to get stuck under the legs of one of the chairs. I rescued him and he was off again.

Thinking of my little man, makes me realize how lucky we are to have him! I'm on Ravelry a lot these days with my Summer Mommies group and would like to just throw a suggestion out there to anyone who has some extra knitting time on their hands and would like a simple but meaningful project to work on.

One of the moms in the expectant moms group I was in tragically lost her wee daughter less than an hour after she was born. As a gesture of comfort some of the other mothers got together and knit the mom a blanket. The mom then spearheaded a project that seems to have taken off - sad to say there is such need for it, but that is unfortunately reality. Anyways, the concept is to make blankets to comfort those who have lost a child. If you're interested you can visit the Schuyler Blanket Project on Ravelry, or the Facebook group. I've just come on board with pledging squares for blankets, but when I look at my baby, and my three other babies that are now all teens, I realize how blessed I am in my life and I feel compelled to try and help out.

Who knows when I'll find the time to post next, I'm so hit and miss with it these days, so I will take the time now to wish everyone a very happy holiday season!

Taste testing a new toy

Taste testing a new toy
Originally uploaded by Highlanddancemom

My sewing machine got a very brief workout this morning. (by brief I mean 10 minutes or less - but that's more than it's seen in the last three and a half months!)

I was in a toy store the other day perusing the aisles when I spied something in a lady's cart that intrigued me. It was a fleece ball with little "tags" of different ribbons sticking out from the seams. I'd remembered reading somewhere about these "ingenious" toys that are supposed to be the bees knees for baby to play with. I searched the store until I found the display that contained these veritable treasures and almost fell over in shock at the price of them. For example, they had a teeny weeny triangle of fleece with about four "tags" on it on sale (ON SALE no less!!!) for $12.99. I was somewhat incredulous that people would pay that much - let alone the regular price - for something like that . Being ever so thrifty, I tucked the idea into the little filing cabinet in my brain along with the other, "I can make that myself, better and for a lot less" ideas and went about my day.

Yesterday I happened to drop into my local fabric store and thought what the heck. A wee piece of orange fleece, a wee piece of black fleece and some ribbons (Ok - I splurged and spent a whopping $2.50 on a spool of Hallowe'en themed ribbon - but hey - I can use that for a myriad of other projects down the road I'm sure). A few minutes at the machine, a run through the laundry and Douglas seems pretty darned pleased with my efforts of this morning!

On the knitting front, I seem to be a touch obsessed with hats. I started and finished my Tretta hat in less than 24 hours and have just last night cast on for the Marsan Watchcap. I am the "Queen of Hats" these days, which is odd given I rarely ever wear a hat myself. But they are quick, easy to pick up for a minute and then put down again at the... well... drop of a hat or the cry of a hungry baby and they are nothing if not next-to-instant gratification! Not to mention sometimes a pretty big necessity for living on the prairies in the winter!

A pumpkin hat for my l'il punkin

A pumpkin hat for my l'il punkin
Originally uploaded by Highlanddancemom

So since I'm back in the land of the online, I thought I'd give you a few pictures of my recent FOs. My very favourite to date being baby's pumpkin hat. I love this pattern! Seven had brought it to our attention on Knitty the other day and I'll confess to developing an immediate obsession to make this hat for my "l'il punkin". It's a great pattern - can't say enough good things about it. It whipped up in a couple of hours using Cascade 220 for the hat and Ella Rae Classic for the stem. LOVE IT!!!!!

I've also managed a few other projects lately. My Pomotamus have been done for a little while actually. I knit them mostly in the car en route to and from the city. Occassionally I was able to get a row or two done in the evening when Douglas was being given a bottle by Daddy (I try to make sure there's one bottle every couple of days or so in the fridge so Daddy can have some of the feeding time snuggles too and as an added bonus it gives me a few minutes to myself!)

Car knitting (since G got her license) has been my main time to get the needles out, and in between sock one and two of Pomotamus I took a short break to make myself a pair of felted slippers - I'm always greatly amused by the excessive size of pre-felted items! They are kind of funny looking but cozy, so that's what counts in my books.

Last but not least on the FO list is another favourite project. A Christmas stocking for baby! This one is from "Cute Knits for Baby Feet" which is a fun little book I picked up when I was still pregnant. If you're in dire need of a stocking in a hurry, make this one your go to pattern. Seriously. Two days and it was done, and it's the perfect size for baby.

On the needles I've got some random projects that have been on the go for awhile; Clementine Shawlette (longest ever WIP for me I think), Plath, and my chevron scarf, and a new addition to the WIP collection -Froot Loop socks.

Well, I'm being paged by a hungry little man, so I'm off for now. Happy knitting!

I'm back...

After several months of dismal and then no internet access, I'm finally back. I thought I would just do a quick post to say hi and let you know I'm still around! Here's a couple of recent pictures of my little man, Douglas who was born on July 5th, 2009. He amazes us every day with how incredible he is!

Douglas at about 2 1/2 months old :

Douglas at 12 weeks old:


I'll be back in a few days with a longer update on this prairie girl's life!